


When Lightning Strikes, Heroes Fall

by TravellingVisitor



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, Linked Universe - Fandom, LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, God these boys have been hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Legend just might have one of the same, Mentions of Blood, Panic attack or close panic attack, Reference to past injuries, Sky with certain scars is a very strong headcanon of mine, Three cheers for fear bonding, Victim Guilt is such a fun thing ain't it, have fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 02:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21500044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TravellingVisitor/pseuds/TravellingVisitor
Summary: Two heroes out of the nine don't quite prefer stormy weather.One thundering night they confide in each other, and one spills a secret he never thought he'd tell.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 142





	When Lightning Strikes, Heroes Fall

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the first "big" thing I ever wrote for this utter black hole of an AU, and to be honest, I'm incredibly proud of it.  
> It was my first livewrite, my first writing experience that I really shared with others that was all my own. Yeah, there's a few grammar mistakes that I know I probably missed, but at least from my perspective, it's enjoyable anyways.  
> I hope you all enjoy <3  
> P.S.  
> Another name I had for this fic was "Riding Out The Storm" but like... Drama

It was storming outside.  
The group had all taken shelter in a cave, the group tucked away in Hyrule's, well, Hyrule. Wild was in the back of the small cave, lighting a fire with flint and the blade of an axe he carried, having been told to _not_ use a bomb arrow because it would _kill them all_.  
Most of the group were chatty, complaining about the weather and the cold. All except for two.  
Legend and Sky were sitting a little closer to the entrance, both of them quiet. Sky had sat here first and Legend had followed, seeing a familiar hint of an expression on the Skyloftian's face.

Sky had his hands on his sailcloth, the heavy fabric draped over his shoulders and pulled around to the front so he could grip the white cloth tightly in his hands. He certainly wasn't letting go anytime soon, and Legend was watching him out of the corner of his eye. Both of their heads flash up like meerkats at the sudden sound of thunder and the immediate flash of lightning, a tiny flinch having come from both of them at the same time their heads went up.  
Legend pulls in a soft breath and runs his fingers over the floor beside his legs, focusing firmly on the texture.  
_Stone, not wood. Stone, not wood. There's no rocking waves here, I'll be okay. I'll be okay. There won't be dreams here._  
He chances another look at Sky.

He took in the sight of his posture, brows furrowing just slightly at how pallid he looked. Sky.. He was terrified. Terrified and hiding it as best he could. Legend watches as the hero twists and turns the edges of the sailcloth through his fingers, seemingly trying to keep himself from gripping his arms. Speaking of.. He hardly showed them.  
Legend opens his mouth a little bit, hesitating and looking forwards. He doesn't have any idea why he's so compelled to share, leaning his head back to rest it against the rock wall they both huddled against. Heaving a heavy sigh out through his nose, he starts to whisper. "I... Well. Bad experience with storms?" He moves only his eyes, looking over at the other hero.

Sky had flinched, just slightly, at Legend's whisper. Those fearful soft blues chanced a glance at the more tealish blue ones looking down at him. The Skyloftian nodded quickly, the movement more of a jerk down and up.  
"... Me too." Legend whispers, looking back up at the ceiling of the cave. The sound of thunder and lightning filled the cave again and they both flinched, Legend's fingers curling tight around a rock as if that would defend him from his fears. "I... It was on the sea."  
He had the attention of the other hero now, Legend not normally one to share his past.  
"... I had a boat. Sailed straight into a storm, I was struck down..." He whispers. "... Knocked unconscious, fell into a coma.. Nearly died. I'm very lucky to be alive..."  
He glances down, still gripping the rock. It was the only thing keeping his nails from digging into his skin. "I woke up, alone, on driftwood floating in the sea."

Sky's eyes had widened in shock. The young man looked down at his arms, slowly curling and uncurling his fingers as if he was testing them out. He had tugged at his glove, shaking the clothing off and then slowly rolling up his sleeve, revealing a horrifying Lichtenberg scar twining it's way up past the rolled-back sleeve. Lighting and thunder interrupted them once more, Sky's revealed arm pressing to his chest as he froze. It took him a second but he slowly eased, moving his arm fully into Legend's view.  
"... I understand." Came a whisper, the more ancient hero staring at the scar as if it was burning him.  
Legend, however, was disturbed and horrified.  
_The nerve damage that would cause... I..._ He pales a little more, brow furrowing. _How the hell did he get one this bad?_  
Staying quiet, he lets Sky continue on.

"I..." Sky started, glancing at the others and then back down at his arm, tugging his sleeve back down and gripping his glove in his hands. "I know... I know I haven't gone through as much as-"  
A soft thump on his shoulder interrupted him, Legend giving him a light scolding look.  
"Stop that. We've all been through something different, there's no use in comparing our situations. Bullshit is what it is... But go on. I'm listening." He murmured, moving his hand back to his lap.  
Sky gave his jerking nod again, swallowing slowly.  
"Okay. Okay." He twists his glove again. "I've had... A lot of experience with lightning. You know how I didn't fight Ganon, I... I fought something- Someone else. I don't know if you know him.. But his name was Demise."  
"Demise?" Legend echoed, raising one eyebrow just slightly.  
"Yes. He was... He wasn't like Ganondorf, he was more like... Oh, Hylia." Sky had choked a little on the last word, pressing a hand over his mouth as he stared forwards. Legend's eyes widen slightly, freezing up a bit before giving Sky an awkward pat on the shoulder.  
" ** _Though this is not the end. My hate... never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end. I will rise again. Those like you... Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time._** "  
Sky had whispered this, voice shaking as he covered his face with one hand, the other twined in his sailcloth. Legend had frozen as he listened, staring at the other hero.  
"... Those were his dying words."

"He... He placed a curse. On me, on Sun, and on his own hatred..." Sky could barely be heard now, Legend having to pay close attention to even hear him. "He started a cycle. Rather... I did. I... I couldn't kill him in time, Legend. I didn't defeat him fast enough, and now _I'm_ the reason that we're all here."  
His voice had started to rise.  
" _I'm_ the reason why you all have lived and led horrible lives, _I'm_ the reason why you can't catch a break and Time can't speak about his childhood, _I'm_ the reason why Wild died and had to go through a hundred year sleep while his Hyrule burned around him, _I'm_ the reason why Wind's Hyrule is sunken under the waves, _I'm_ the reason why Hyrule has to fear spilling _blood_ -"  
He had caught the attention of the whole group at this point, gripping his arms as tears dripped down his cheeks, only flinching harder at the sound of the raging storm outside.  
Legend shot a look at the group, grabbing Sky's shoulders and forcing the other man to turn to him, to sit facing him. "Look at me- Look at me- oh _fuck_ \- Sky, look at me-"

"I need you to listen to me, just listen to me alright? Don't talk, listen to me- Damnit Sky, listen-" Legend pries Sky's hands off of his arms and leans his head down slightly. The hero was trying to catch Sky's gaze, doing his best to snap the other out of it.  
"This shit- This is not your fault alright? Whoever the _hell_ Demise was, it was his and not yours. Not. Yours. Do you understand? Fucking hell- Don't you dare take all that shit on your shoulders. It was Demise, and it was Ganon. All this shit, it wasn't your doing. Okay?"  
He earned a tiny nod in response, Legend's shoulders slumping down in minor relief. "Now... What the hell did he do to you?" He took Sky's uncovered wrist and turned his hand so that his palm showed, eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of the Lichtenberg scars arching out from his palm in a certain way, almost like a sword hilt. An _extremely familiar_ sword hilt.  
"He... His sword had lightning. I got hit a few times." Came the quiet, shaking answer.  
"Where'd this come from then?" Legend taps the hilt-like scar.

"That..." Sky presses his other hand to his face again. "... I used the Master Sword as a lightning rod."  
He didn't see Legend's face go white with shock.  
"... Multiple times."  
"Excuse me?!" Legend's voice had pitched up slightly, yet he was still trying to be quiet. "Do- Do you know how stupid that is- Sky what in the actual _hell_ -"  
"It was the only way I could defeat him Legend, I-"  
Once more the storm startled them into a momentary silence, the pair of them freezing up for a moment before letting out small breaths of their own.  
Legend resumed the conversation once more, his voice seeming more still and hushed. "That.. Sky can you even feel out of that hand anymore?...."  
"Most times... There are days where I can't...." Pain flickered in Sky's eyes, the young Hero glancing away. "There are days where I can't move it, or hardly..."

"The same goes with my limbs, or just... my body. In general. Some days it takes me at least an hour to be able to sit up again, I..." He sighs shakily. "I usually just pretend that I'm sleeping."  
Legend almost knocks his hat off with the force of which he ran a hand through his hair, sitting back on his legs. He was horrified, listening to the Skyloftian talk.  
"There are days where I can't _feel_ anything either... I'm always a little numb, but I remember..." Sky chokes up again, rubbing his eyes but keeping himself talking. "I remember one time I was faking sleep, and Wind and Warriors took turns piling sticks on my shoulders and head... I couldn't feel them. I could just barely feel them on my left shoulder, but... But not anywhere else and I..."  
The blue-capped hero hushes him at this point, concern in his eyes as he kept his hands on Sky's shoulders. "No more. No more of that... Don't do that to yourself."

"Hey.. Just listen to me again alright? You have got to stop punishing yourself because of this, it's... It's not your fault. Don't torture yourself with the questions of how you could have done things differently, cause I'm damn sure as hell you did everything you could. Just... We can work with you for this, alright? You aren't alone, and we certainly aren't mad that you fought something evil and strong enough to _curse_ you and came out alive. You aren't alone, Sky."  
Legend sighs quietly.  
"For now, let's just ride out the storm."

**Author's Note:**

> I would also love to give credit where credit is due, as my wonderful, dear friend and artist Garry drew a full-blown, amazing comic for this story not long after I wrote it. **_I dedicate this posting to him._** Surprise, my friend! <3  
> Please, please go check him out, the link to the comic is here- **https://facial-hair-fanatic-artdump.tumblr.com/post/186926293257/finally-after-couple-weeks-of-procrastination-and**  
>  And the link to his Tumblr is here- **https://facial-hair-fanatic-artdump.tumblr.com/**  
>  You'll need to copy-and-paste into a browser tab because I have no idea how to make links work on this site lmao


End file.
